A unique feature in Paladins is its loadout system, allowing players to fine tune builds for each champion. Players can have a number of different loadouts that play to different play styles, and are influenced by talents that are unlocked through the mastery system. Each loadout consists of five cards chosen by the player, who then assigns levels to each card, with a cap of 15 points.
The buffs that the cards provide become more affective with each level, allowing for drastic changes to the overall player experience. Two players can face off with the same champion and be equipped with totally different buffs. One could have more health, while the other has 10 additional rounds in the chamber and slightly better cooldown reduction. However, there are cards in each champion's kit that are almost universally chosen for their game-changing abilities.
10 Khan - Never Surrender!
Never Surrender reduces the cooldown of Khan's Battle Shout by 3 seconds when leveled to legendary. Battle Shout allows Khan to become immune to damage for one second and heal himself and nearby allies for 1100 health. Battle Shout has a base cooldown of 14 seconds, the longest in Khan's kit.
Never Surrender allows Khan to get Battle Shout off much more frequently, especially with additional cooldown reduction cards. Having 3 seconds shaved off is huge, and with the right set up, Khan can Battle Shout every 8 to 9 seconds. Never Surrender allows Khan to reach his full potential as a battle-hardened warrior.
9 Cassie - Incitement
Cassie's Dodge Roll is her primary mobility skill, and it's a fantastic engage or escape skill. With her Incitement card leveled to legendary, Cassie can reduce the cooldown of her Dodge Roll by 5 seconds if she hits an enemy with her first weapon shot after dodge rolling.
Since Dodge Roll has a base cooldown of 7 seconds, that means a skilled Cassie player can Dodge Roll every 2 seconds, provided they're dead on with their aim and make few mistakes. The sequences Cassie can pull off with this card are ridiculous, and she's almost impossible to hit when she's rolling around that fast.
8 Makoa - Barrier Reef
Makoa's Shell Shield is arguably the best in Paladins. It can soak up 4000 damage total, and Makoa is mobile while it's active, so he can provide cover for his allies easier. Barrier Reef, fully maxed to legendary, reduces Shell Shield's cooldown by 1 second for every 800 damage it absorbs.
So if the Shell Shield gets fully busted, it can be back up in 9 seconds. This means Makoa's teammates can seek shelter under his protective dome more frequently, keeping supports and extra DPS alive to finish fights. If Makoa has Barrier Reef in his loadout, rest assured he won't be letting any eliminations come easy.
7 Skye - Shadow Affinity
Skye needs stealth to do her job correctly, and her Smoke Screen and Hidden abilities let her do that fairly frequently. Her hidden ability lets her be in stealth for 7.5 seconds, plenty of time to set up a surprise elimination. Sky can gain access to Hidden way more often if Shadow Affinity is leveled to Legendary, because this fantastic card r educes Hidden's cooldown by 5 seconds.
With this cooldown reduction and her Smoke Screen, Skye can remain unseen for the majority of a round if played well. A skilled Skye can make the enemy team nervous to round every corner, and they'll be triple checking their flanks after she picks up a few kills.
6 Vivian - Unchecked Ambition
Vivian's gun already has one of the deepest magazines in the game, with 70 rounds filling her Light Machine Gun. Adding a legendary Unchecked Ambition to any loadout ensures that Vivian will almost never need the reload button.
The card gives Vivian a 60% chance to not consume ammo every time she hits an enemy with a shot. This essentially transforms Vivian into a walking version of Tyra's ultimate. Anyone caught in a firefight with Vivian needs to aim for the head and hope their shots land, because she isn't running out of ammo anytime soon.
5 Terminus - Necromantic Might
A Necromantic Might card at a legendary level reduces the damage required for Calamity Blast by 500, making it possible for Terminus to deal damage much faster. The normal damage absorbed required for Calamity Blast is 1200, so Necromantic Might makes it a cool 700.
Calamity Blast is Terminus's only method of dealing damage at a distance, so the faster he can store charges, the better. With Necromantic Might, Terminus rapidly repel enemy damage and make them think twice before challenging him on the objective.
4 Rei - Refreshing Break
A legendary Refreshing Break card modifies Rei's Chain Heal with a very powerful buff. The card grants allies being healed by Chain Heal an additional 0.85% ultimate charge. With accurate aim, Rei can boost the ultimate charge rate of her allies by a significant amount.
This can allow her team to overwhelm the enemy with their abilities and leave them guessing at what actually happened. Chain heal is already one of the best heals in Paladins, so this added buff is just icing on the cake.
3 Tyra - Primal Might
Primal Might is a must-have for Tyra players, as it gives them access to their skills twice as fast. Primal Might reduces Tyra's active cooldowns by 50% each time she gets an elimination. This means double firebombs and double grenades as long as eliminations are frequent.
Tyra turns into an absolute monster with a legendary Primal Might equipped. She can constantly zone enemies away from the objective and secure kills with well-placed grenades.
2 Saati - Steady Predictions
For skilled Saati players, a legendary Steady Predictions card is a huge buff. This card generates ultimate charge each time Saati shoots her coin, with 5% being the cap at legendary. This means that while Saati is devastating foes behind cover with her Ricochet ability, she is also rapidly charging her ultimate.
Steady Predictions turns Saati into a gun slinging machine, allowing her multiple uses of Wallbang per match. However, players must be accurate when shooting that coin in the sky for it all to work.
1 Fernando - Last Stand
Last Stand is fantastic for Fernando in dire situations. When he drops to 35% health, the card heals him for 450 health a second while his shield is active. This can make Fernando near impossible to get off the objective without a Frontline champion with a charge.
Combined with healing from support champions, Last Stand can make Fernando immortal with the right set-up. Players will need to take extra care to not use up their shield resource, otherwise they won't live long enough to see the benefits of Last Stand.